The present invention is in the field of needles and hypodermic syringes. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a device that is capable of receiving and bending needles to desired lengths and angles.
It is very common in the medical field of intravenous therapy or intravenous vesicant drug treatment, to use a device for allowing frequent, atraumatic and relatively simple access to a patient's veins. One such device is shown in FIG. 8 and includes an intravenous catheter 110 that is inserted beneath the skin 112 along with a port chamber or reservoir 114. Chamber 114 includes an upper septum material 122 and is enclosed by a casing 124.
A special "non-curing" needle 116 is used in conjunction with the chamber and intravenous catheter. The needle is inserted through the patient's skin into chamber 114 and left for varying periods of time in order to meet intravenous drug treatment demands as required. Needle 116 has a hollow shaft 118 which ends at an inclined closed end 117. A side hole 119 allows the drug to pass out of the needle lumen and into chamber 114, and prevents coring of septum 122 by the needle.
Because the needle must be left in a patient for prolonged periods of time, it is standard practice to secure the needle hub 120 and shaft 118 to the patient's skin. The optimum configuration for such a needle is to bend it at a 90.degree. angle which allows the needle to pass through the skin and be aligned in a perpendicular arrangement with the port chamber. This configuration allows the exposed portion of the needle, including the hub, to lie parallel to the skin.
Having the exposed needle portion arranged in this manner decreases incidence of infection, secures the needle so that it is not inadvertently dislodged and prevents unnecessary movement of the needle, alleviating undue wear of the septum material 122 in the chamber 114, which can result in premature failure of the septum material.
The special preformed needles required for this type of intravenous treatment are supplied either straight or with a right angle bend. Because the straight needles are difficult to secure to a patient, they are seldom used in this application. Additionally, the needles preformed at a right angle bend also pose a problem. Because the needles are preformed at right angles, the inserted portion of the needle, i.e., the portion of the needle that extends from the tip to the right angle bend, is seldom of a proper length to ensure that the needle is secured firmly and properly in the patient during the intravenous drug therapy.
Because the preformed, right angle bend needles are mass produced for medical use, many patients are not afforded a firm securing of the needle that is most efficient. In order to achieve a result where each patient has the most secure fit of the inserted needle, each needle must vary accordingly in the portion of the needle that is inserted beneath the skin, that is the length of the needle extending from the tip to the right angle bend.
The present invention is designed to solve or substantially ameliorate the above-described problems.